5 tips to help you choose good wine

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Choosing a wine that suits you is difficult enough. Learn how not to get lost in a huge number of bottles with colorful labels and buy delicious wine.

It is quite difficult to choose the most delicious and suitable wine for you.

It's not always worth focusing on the awards you read about on the label. Experts award wines with medals and note unusual flavors, and you may not like these wines. Still, the most important thing is your own taste preferences.

But what do you need to look at in order to find a good wine?

1. Pay attention to the label

The beautiful design and fashionable concept do not at all indicate what is inside the bottle.

On the labels, the main information is the producer, region of origin and grape variety. The last is the most important. Let's say you like Sauvignon Blanc. Be sure to try the same grape from another grower or region.

Over time, you will be able to consciously choose between varieties and countries. Even when the store doesn’t have your favorite wine, you’re more likely to buy something worthwhile if you place your bet on a reputable region, variety, or producer.

2. Examine the grades of the quality of the wine in points

If there is no competent sommelier nearby, and you want to buy a bottle for dinner, you can study the systems for assessing the quality of wines in points.

If you choose wine from Russian producers, you can use Artur Sargsyan's guide. He holds a tasting every year and gives marks in his guide.

If you want to buy imported wine, remember that there is a 20-point grading system in Europe. It is used, for example, by Decanter magazine. There is also a Robert Parker 100-point system, which is used by the Wine Spectator guide. Points are awarded by professional tasters according to certain rules. If the wine has 85 points, it will be good. And if less than 70, you should look for other options.

But it should be borne in mind that many wines, including Russian ones, are absent in world ratings. It's not a lack of quality, but an underdeveloped market. Also, you might like a 100 point wine less than a 90 point wine.

3. Remember that price is not always an indicator of quality

Wines differ in price at times. It would be easier if price served as an indicator of good taste - the more expensive the better. But this is not the case. The same wine can be priced differently in two adjacent stores. The total cost per shelf depends entirely on the retailer.

For 300-400 rubles in large retail chains you can buy good wine. A couple of years ago we held a wine tasting for 250 rubles. We didn't like 90%, but 10% of them turned out to be quite worthy.

If we talk about imported wines, bottles that cost 1–2 euros in Spain are sold for 800 rubles. What quality can we talk about here?

4. Look at the country of origin

Some countries have become brands of sorts for a long time. We used to think that France, Italy, Spain will not let you down with the quality of wine. But many French and Italian wines are greatly overvalued in our country.

So, not the best wine is often exported, but really high-quality wine, the same Italians prefer to drink themselves. Often wines from Europe can be inferior in quality than wines of the same price category from the countries of the New World. For example, in the United States, cheap wine can be of the highest quality because producers can afford it.

The story with Chile is indicative. Once upon a time, the quality of Chilean wines sold in Russia was very good. But with the growing popularity, quality began to suffer, so a lot of frankly bad wine appeared in the budget price segment.

The Chilean example is not the only one. A similar thing happens with the Italian Chianti. Russian buyers come to the winery and say that they need a million bottles, but at 75 cents or one euro. The manufacturer often does not have such an amount of Chianti, but who will refuse a million euros?

The manufacturer will somehow "muddle" this wine and write on the bottle that it is Chianti. In fact, in order to be called that, wine in Italy needs to be certified.

5. Remember that natural cork is not the main thing

It is generally accepted that good wine should be corked with natural cork. This is a myth that is believed not only in Russia. Also, many believe that it is impossible to seal the bottle with a cork cork, plastic or screw cork.

But wine is much more influenced not by the technology by which the cork is made, but by how well it is produced. Even very expensive wines can be corked with pressed crumbs. But every tenth natural cork, which is considered by many to be the best, will bring wine in the bottle to cork disease, which has not yet been dealt with.

Some manufacturers have switched to plastic corks, which have no negative impact on wine. A screw cap is an excellent solution for young wines that are drunk within 3-5 years after production. Manufacturers in Australia, New Zealand and other countries switched to it.